Upcoming youth rally looks to spark faith and fellowship

St. Therese of Lisieux Parish in Cresskill is hosting a Mass and youth rally Sunday for sixth through twelfth graders in the Central Bergen County deanery. The special event is meant to kick off the school year and encourage youth and young adults in their faith journeys.

“The hope is to get the youth excited about their faith and the start of a new school year,” said Gina Marie Loiacono, the Pastoral Associate with St. Therese of Lisieux Parish, who organized the event with the help of a committee. “We want to bring teens together from other parishes so that they realize that they are not alone in caring about their faith.”

The gathering is also an opportunity for youth ministers to form a camaraderie amongst themselves.

“They, too, will have someone to share both the joys and the challenges of their ministry,” Loiacono said.

The event begins with Mass at 11:30 a.m. Bishop Michael A. Saporito will serve as the principal celebrant with St. Therese of Lisieux’s pastor, Father Samuel Citero, and other priests from the deanery. Members of the youth will serve as lectures, cantors, and Gift Bearers.

The outdoor rally begins after Mass on the parish grounds and will feature games, music, icebreakers, and peer-to-peer teen speakers. The keynote speaker is Ed Craviolo, a co-confirmation director at St. Therese of Lisieux.

“The teens will talk about how youth ministry has been beneficial in their life and what they like about it,” Loiacono said.

Eucharistic Adoration, lunch, and fellowship will follow. The event ends at 3 p.m., but Loiacono said the team is willing to stay later if the teens want to spend more time together. There are at least 30 teens expected to attend the rally.

“These kids have been without any community for so long now,” Loiacono said. “They’re frustrated.”

Father Samuel said the event fits nicely with Bishop Michael A. Saporito’s new Vine and Branches initiative to welcome parishioners back to church and reenergize the parish community. The Vine and Branches initiative will officially launch in the Archdiocese of Newark on Oct. 10.

“When she told me about the program, I had already spoken to Bishop Saporito, and he was sharing some of his thoughts and ideas about our hopes for really evangelizing people and bringing people back to church on all levels,” Father Samuel said. “This program that Gina Marie put together for the youth rally fits right into what the bishop is talking about. We’re happy to do anything that we can at the parish to promote Vine and Branches.”

Father Samuel, a youth minister before becoming a priest, said outreach and fellowship efforts with the youth are a perfect way for the parish to begin their Vine and Branches initiatives.

“The youth, in particular, have been alienated,” he said.

Loiacono hopes to expand the youth rally in future years to include teens beyond the deanery.